Pages

Saturday, April 9, 2016

HARLEQUIN APRIL RELEASE SPOTLIGHT ~MARIN THOMAS ** A Cowboy's Claim**

A DIFFERENT KIND OF HERO

Everyone knows Victor Vicario—he's the scarred loner who's on his way to the National Finals Rodeo in Vegas. But no one knows about the guilt that drives him. And until he achieves his goal, there's no room in his life for attachments.

So when Vic is given temporary custody of his young nephew, he is torn. He can't turn his back on family, but how can he look after a kid when he's traveling the rodeo circuit? Then he runs into feisty barrel racer Tanya McGee and makes her an offer. She helps him with Alex, and he'll pay her rodeo expenses. The problem is their little "family" starts to feel all too real.

Q&A for Marin Thomas – A Cowboy’s Claim

1.How
did you first get started writing romance?

I’ve always enjoyed writing. In high
school I was co-sports editor of the student newspaper and in college I majored
in broadcast journalism. It wasn’t until I took a creative writing class at the
University of Arizona that I discovered how much I enjoyed fiction writing. After
graduating college I married, had kids and became a stay-at-home mom who read
romances to escape the stress of raising two toddlers. When my youngest began
all-day kindergarten, I cleaned out the basement and discovered the short
stories I’d written in college, which reminded me how much I enjoyed writing
and I decided to try my hand at writing a romance story. My first manuscript
was a cliché pirate plot that landed in the recycle bin. I switched to
contemporary stories because historicals required too many trips to the library
to do research. (Yes, I’m old enough to have written a book without the help of
Google) It wasn’t until I joined Romance Writers of America in Denver, Colorado,
that I became serious about pursuing publication. Eight years later I sold my
first book, The Cowboy and the Bride, to Harlequin American Romance and since
then I’ve contracted over thirty-five stories for the line.

2.If
you could be any heroine from your favorite novel, who would you choose and
why?

Ellen Tanner from Nelson in Command
(July 2013). I grew up in a small town and remember taking Sunday drives with
my grandfather through the back roads of Wisconsin. I’d stare at the passing dairy
barns and imagine what it would be like to grow up on a farm and take care of
cows. Then we’d stop at a tavern and “Gramps” would buy me a Shirley Temple and
a bag of cheese popcorn and he’d drink a draft beer before we headed home.

3.Out
of all the books you’ve read, which one would you turn into a book to film
adaptation, (if it has not been done before)?

Any
Curtiss Ann Matlock romance would make a great movie!

4.List
five adjectives to describe yourself.

Dry
sense of humor

Homebody

Blue-collar
heart

Determined

Directionally
Challenged

7. What’s your favorite place for inspiration?

The
passenger seat of a car staring out the window at the passing scenery. I also
love junk hunting in salvage shops and dumpy places like the Texas Junk Company
in Houston. What can I say—junk speaks to me. There’s a story behind every
castoff and trinket no one wants anymore.

8.
Do you have one thing that can
completely distract you while writing?

Social
Media

9. What is your favorite quote by a writer who
inspires you?

“You
Must Do The Things You Think You Cannot Do” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

10.
When it comes to book covers, what
attracts you to buy a book?

Color
scheme and how the overall scene speaks to me emotionally.

11.
While you were writing, did you ever
feel as if you were one of the characters?

No, but many times I was relieved I wasn’t
one of them.

12. If you could ask any
character in A Cowboy’s Claim a
question, what would it be?

I’d
ask Tanya McGee what took her so long to make her move on Victor Vicario.

13.
What are you working on next?

A new cowboy series involving three
brothers caught in the middle of a feud between their grandfather, mayor Emmett
Hardell and the matriarch of Stampede, Texas, Amelia Rinehart. Despite Emmett’s
objections Amelia is determined to give the dusty west Texas town a makeover
and enlists the help of her female relatives. It isn’t long before the women
realize the biggest obstacle in their path is a Hardell cowboy.

BON APPETIT AND A BOOK: A delicious recipe
to enjoy alongside the book with an image

Heat
oven to 400°. Arrange apples over dough. Pour sauce evenly over apples. Roll
remaining disk of dough into a 12" round and place over top of pie. Pinch
top and bottom edges together and fold under; crimp edges. Brush with egg
mixture; sprinkle with 1 tbsp. sugar. Cut three 1"-long slits in top of
pie. Bake until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbling, about 1 hour.
Let cool completely before serving.

SONG
PLAYLIST: A
prepared playlist of songs that embodies the book’s characters and their love
story.

Rodeo by Garth Brooks

Rank
Riders Anthem Luke Kaufman

Too Young to Feel This Damn Old-Garth
Brooks

I Wanna Be A Cowboy’s Sweetheart- Patsy Montana

Cowgirls Don’t Cry- Brooks & Dunn (featuring Reba McEntire)

Happy Trails- Roy Rogers & Dale Evans

Red Dirt Road-Brooks & Dunn

On The Road Again-Willie Nelson

Life Is A Highway-Chris Ledoux

If It's The Last Thing
I Do-Montgomery Gentry

Amarillo by Morning-George Strait

Country Roads (Take Me Home)-John Denver

How 'Bout Them Cowgirls-George Strait

Always On My Mind-Willie
Nelson

Breathe-Faith
Hill

One Ride In Vegas Chris
Ledoux

Cowboy Like Me Cody
Johnson

How-to
Tips for Aspiring Writers:Tips for those
looking to get their work published/break into the industry.

#1 Be
fearless

#2 Grow
a thick skin. As Tom Hanks says, “There’s no crying in baseball! (A League of
Their Own) Same goes for publishing.

#3 Be
receptive to suggestions for improvement but take any advice with a grain of
salt and always go with your gut.

#4 Check your ego at the door. No matter where you are in
your writing career there’s always room for growth and improvement.

#5 Don’t throw in the towel. Each rejection should fuel your
determination not to give up and to continue honing your craft.

#6 If you can do all of the above, then start studying. Read
blogs about the publishing industry—find out what books are selling. Read the craft
of writing blogs. Join a writing organization. Join a critique group. Learn
from published authors, then put all that knowledge to work and write.

#7 Don’t beat a manuscript to death. If your work has
received several rejections even after you’ve revised according to an editor or
agent’s suggestions and the book is still being rejected then put it aside and
begin a new one. You’ll be surprised by
how much your writing improves with each new book.

WRITER’S
SPACE:

I write in a spare bedroom of our little ranch house
in Houston, Texas. My love of all things
western and cowboys is incorporated in my decorating scheme. My desk was a gift
to me by my husband after I sold my first book to Harlequin. It’s called a
Texas Ranger desk and was custom made for me by a business in Dallas,
Texas. I’m often asked why I love
writing cowboys and here’s why:

“America
needs the Cowboy both to remind us of how far we have come and to bring us back
to the simplicity of the values he represents. He is also needed because he is
a piece of who we are as a country. He represents a lifestyle and a time period
that is a cherished part of our History. Little boys want to grow up to be him
and the little girls want to grow up to marry him.” ~cowboycrew.com

LOVE LESSON LEARNED: real life romance
lessons learned from the book

-Don’t be afraid to let yourself be vulnerable

-Forgive yourself for past mistakes and focus on the future

-Let yourself be loved

-Fight for the one you love

-Love requires patience and sacrifice; usually one person in
a relationship will give more than the other

-Realize that sometimes you need to let yourself be vulnerable in
order to find love.

MOVIE STAR CAST:
the author picks movie stars to play the characters in a movie

Barrel Racer Tanya McGee--Emma
Stone

Saddle-Bronc cowboy
Victor Vicario—Ryan Paevey

SPRING
TIME SPIRITS: A light and refreshing cocktail to pair with the
book including an image

No comments:

Post a Comment

NEWSLETTER SIGN UP!

Subscribe to our mailing list

* indicates required

Email Address *

First Name

Last Name

#BOC

My Blogging Babes

Jackie's Books 'n Bags

International Blogger Babes

Os Livros Nossos

What Book Obsessed Chicks is all about.

Hello all, it's Kim Rocha.. I want to welcome you all to the blog and thank you for stopping by for a look. There's nothing I like better than helping a reader like myself find a new author and some great books to read.

Don't be bashful, please leave a comment, I love to hear from you!

This blog is totally ME... I only post what I truly like. I don't go with the trends or with what's "hot". Sometimes I'm stuck in the West with some really awesome Cowboys and sometimes I'm immersed in Historical. Once in a while I'll read some exciting paranormal... Book Obsessed Chicks Blog isn't flashy with dozens of posts a day and I don't sell anything. I like to keep it simple.

If you like my posts, please let me know... I always love to go through comments and observations. Thank you for your support over the last few years...

Kim's Goodread's Bookshelf

Ratings

NetGalley

REVIEW REQUESTS

AT THIS TIME, I APOLOGIZE, BUT I AM NOT ABLE TO TAKE REVIEW REQUESTS, UNLESS THE BOOKS ARE IN MY PREFERRED GENRES. HISTORICAL ROMANCE, WESTERN ROMANCE, PARANORMAL. APPROVAL WILL GO ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS.

THANK YOU

APPEARANCES 2018

JULY 14: BOOK CLUB WITH BARB HAN

AUGUST 25: BOOK OBSESSED CHICKS BEACH BBQ BASH

SEPTEMBER 22: BOOK CLUB WITH LYNN WINCHESTER

OCTOBER 13: BOOK CLUB WITH CHRISTI CALDWELL

OCTOBER 27: BOOK CLUB WITH TERRI BRISBIN

NOVEMBER 17: BOOK CLUB WITH JAMIE BECK

DECEMBER 16: HOLIDAY PARTY WITH THE BOOK OBSESSED CHICKS

JULY 28, 2019; THE FINAL BOOK OBSESSED CHICKS BEACH BBQ BASH

Followers

WARNING!!!

THIS IS AN ADULT SITE WITH ADULT CONTENT.WE ARE A FAN BASED SITE FOR ENJOYMENT ONLY.